Windows Phone 8 will support dual-core processor at launch, and quad-core support will come at a later date (Windows Phone 8 can theoretically support up to 64 cores
). In addition, Windows Phone 8 will support three screen resolutions: 800x480, 1280x768, and 1280x720. Although we question the need for both of the latter screen resolutions, we'll give Microsoft the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Other features include microSD support for removable storage (movies, videos, photos, apps), VoIP/Skype integration, in-app purchases, Internet Explorer 10 (complete with anti-phising technology), native NFC support, and a mobile Wallet Hub to store credit/debit cards, and deals/offers, (it sounds quite a bit like Apple's Passbook from iOS 6). Nokia's NAVTEQ mapping technology will also be built-in to Windows Phone 8 including offline maps. Another new feature, Tap+Send, allows users to "bump" phones to share data. However, we've seen this functionality before in Android devices.

Customizable tiles in Windows Phone 8

The biggest change announced is a revamp of the Start screen and the Live Tiles system. Microsoft is now giving users the ability to completely control the Start screen and resize tiles to make their phones more personal. For example, if the Pictures hub is most important to you, you can resize the tile to make is take a huge portion of your screen while at the same time reducing the size of tiles that don't interest you as much.

Microsoft also made it official that current smartphones running Windows Phone 7.x will not be getting an upgrade to Windows Phone 8. While some functionality will make its way into Windows Phone 7.8 (like the new customizable Start screen), you'll have to purchase a brand new smartphone to get the full Windows Phone 8 experience.

First, different architecture. The phone/tablet will be ARM, the desktop will be x86/x64. It's not just a matter of re-compiling with ARM target: If your code has assembly or intrinsics, happy rewriting.

Second, in WinRT, 80+% of the previous API is gone. (One can safely assume WP8 is the same as tablet-Win8 - AKA WinRT - with some restrictions.) There is just a completely new API that not even exist in Win7. If your application is a bit more complex than a stone (and why wound it not - I'd use a stone in that case..), happy rewriting.

Did you miss the Surface announcement where MS showed off an intel based tablet with Windows 8 Pro? That product directly addresses the issue of running software you'd normally run on a desktop/laptop but on a tablet.